“Works like Magic”: Metaphor, Meaning, and the GUI in Snow Crash.
Computers might well be said to work “like magic.” Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) allow computers to work predictably but inscrutably. Central to the design of GUIs are visual metaphors that help users understand the function of interface elements. In 1992, as GUIs were supplanting command-based i...
| Publicado en: | Science Fiction Studies Vol. 45; no. 1; pp. 69 - 91 |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Literary Criticism |
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University of California Press
Mar2018
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=128083687&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 128083687 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00917729 SFS jtl: Science Fiction Studies issn: 00917729 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2018 vid: 45 iid: 1 pid: 414 pub: University of California Press artinfo: ui: 128083687 10.5621/sciefictstud.45.1.0069 ppf: 69 ppct: 22 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P size: 1.3MB tig: atl: “Works like Magic”: Metaphor, Meaning, and the GUI in Snow Crash. aug: au: Kelly, Nicholas M. su: Clarke, Arthur C. (Arthur Charles), 1917-2008 Graphical user interfaces Technology Magic Vinge, Vernor Virtual reality sug: subj: Clarke, Arthur C. (Arthur Charles), 1917-2008 Graphical user interfaces Technology Magic Vinge, Vernor Virtual reality ab: Computers might well be said to work “like magic.” Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) allow computers to work predictably but inscrutably. Central to the design of GUIs are visual metaphors that help users understand the function of interface elements. In 1992, as GUIs were supplanting command-based interfaces, Snow Crash was published. In it, Neal Stephenson offers a new take on the SF/cyberpunk conceit of “cyberspace” with “the Metaverse,” a VR world Stephenson claims was inspired by real-world GUI design principles. Yet in Stephenson’s 1999 essay “In the Beginning… was the Command Line,” the author rails against metaphor-based interfaces, claiming such software separates users from total control of their systems, control that can only be achieved by learning computer code. Similarly, in Snow Crash, programming code itself is cast as magical, an analog to a pre-Babelian speech that can control human minds as if they are computers. While Stephenson’s novel does show that GUIs can constrain what users can do with their computers—as well as articulate ideas about what computers are for—it does something else. Despite its attack on GUIs, Snow Crash sees the appeal of cyberspace visions as rooted in a human desire to interact with computers in a human way. The real “magic” of making computers mean something on a human level occurs through metaphor-based mental operations which long predate computers. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Literary Criticism src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Science Fiction Studies is the property of University of California Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Science Fiction Studies holder: University of California Press dt: @attributes: year: 2018 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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